


I'll Be There For You

by Mixk



Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: M/M, Male Slash, Slash, Supernatural Elements, Urban Fantasy, Were-Creatures
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-11
Updated: 2014-03-11
Packaged: 2018-01-15 09:50:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,473
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1300576
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mixk/pseuds/Mixk
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After Chuck's death, Herc gets visits from a friendly golden retriever that is full of surprises.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I'll Be There For You

**Author's Note:**

  * For [frikadeller](https://archiveofourown.org/users/frikadeller/gifts).



Herc catches a glimpse of the dog the day after Chuck's funeral. He doesn't pay much attention at first, distracted by memories of his only son. 

The grief and pain wrapped around his heart leave Herc in a lethargic state. He doesn't do much more than stay home and cry in bed. 

The dog shows up at his door a few days later—Herc doesn't really keep track anymore—barking long enough to make Herc go answer the door. The dog, a big golden retriever, barges in as soon as the door's open enough, slipping past Herc easily. 

"Hey!" Herc shouts at the dog, taken aback when the latter comes to him, head nuzzling his leg. Herc can't help but crouch down and pet it, he's always had a weak spot for dogs, and this one is a cutie. The dog doesn't have a collar, but doesn't look like a stray dog either—certainly doesn't smell like one. The golden retriever responds to him surprisingly fast, and Herc wraps his arms around it, a sob escaping his lips as he buries his nose in the soft fur. He's stunned to find the dog smelling like citrus shampoo, but doesn't give it much thought.

He doesn't know what triggers the sobs exactly, but he cries nonetheless. Is it the reminder that Chuck never got the dog Herc was going to get him? The fact that Herc has been extremely lonely? 

The dog doesn't budge from Herc's shaking arms, as though happy to let Herc break down this way, and it doesn't leave Herc's side after that. Herc doesn't have it in him to kick the dog out, and gladly lets it stay with him, for as long as it wants.

Herc's new friend comes and goes as the days go by, but Herc gets regular visits. Those visits force Herc out of the house, the dog nudging him to go out for some air—and isn't that ironic, being taken out by a dog. Herc appreciates it though, and comes to consider this dog as his own personal guardian, sent from Chuck to look after him. It helps Herc sleep better at night, to think this way.

Some nights are easier than others, and on the rougher ones, the dog stays with Herc, lies on the bed beside Herc.

One morning, Herc wakes up to something soft tickling his nose, a warm weight close to him, and he expects to find the dog in his arms. What he opens his eyes to is something entirely different, and definitely not canine. It turns out that his nose was buried not in fur, but in very human hair, the very same dark shade of blonde that Herc remembers the dog's fur being.

Herc blinks several times, thinking he's dreaming, hallucinating, but the sight remains the same. He's cuddling a naked man, and upon closer inspection, Herc recognizes him.

"Raleigh?" 

"Mmhh..."

Herc disentangles himself from the other man and gets up, trying to make sense of what's going on. He clearly remembers going to bed with no one else but his dog—after all this time, he's come to think of the benevolent golden retriever as his—and can't think of any plausible theory to explain why his neighbor is in his bed,  _naked._  

"Raleigh, what are you doing here?" Herc tries again, shaking Raleigh awake. Raleigh's eyes go wide when they open to meet Herc's, and moves so fast he ends up falling off of the bed. 

"Shit, shit, shit," Raleigh mutters, not getting up from the floor. 

"How did you get inside?" Herc asks, starting to freak out. He's not going to lie and say he doesn't like the sound of having Raleigh Becket naked in his bed, but the circumstances under which it happened are more than disturbing. 

"I...I can explain," Raleigh says, and without any warning, he stands up before Herc, barely long enough for Herc to see anything before his body morphs right in front of him to take form that's become familiar to Herc. A golden retriever.

"Jesus—"

Herc's next words get caught in his throat as the dog turns back into Raleigh Becket, now standing closer to him.

"Don't freak out," Raleigh says, putting a hand on Herc's shoulder.

"I'm not freaking out," Herc retorts, though he's finding it hard to keep his cool. Raleigh's just transformed to a dog and back, and it warrants a pinch to make sure Herc isn't dreaming.

"I...I didn't mean for you to find out," Raleigh admits, averting his eyes away from Herc's.

"To find out what? That you're...I don't even know what to call you!"

"I'm a familiar, but that's not important," Raleigh says, seeming unfazed by his nudity. Herc supposes that comes with the territory of being naked all the time as a dog. Herc isn't as comfortable as Raleigh apparently is, however, and his morning wood is proof of that.

"Why?" Herc asks, because he doesn't understand what kind of charade Raleigh's been playing, coming to Herc in his dog form for so long.

"I...I was trying to help you through these hard times." 

"Couldn't you have just come to me like any normal human being to offer your condolences?"

"But I did," Raleigh argues. "It just...it seemed easier this way. I thought it would spare you the trouble of having to speak. I just wanted to be here for you."

Herc has to agree. Having the dog— _Raleigh_ , fuck, that's a big pill to swallow—around did help. It was easy, finding comfort in someone that doesn't ask anything from you, that's just there to listen. Herc most likely wouldn't have dealt with his grief as well as he has without Raleigh, now that he thinks about it.

"Look, Herc, I'm sorry for invading your privacy, I'll leave you alone, all right? Please don't tell anyone about...about me?" Raleigh pleads, giving Herc his puppy eyes look, a look that Herc's seen a lot lately and can't resist. Raleigh's not playing fair, and Herc suspects the younger man knows it.

"I'm not," Herc assures Raleigh, he doesn't have anyone to tell anyway.

Herc lets out a deep breath, scrubbing a hand over his face. This is all insane, and he can't believe he's believing any of it. Any other man would have rejected the thought of such a thing being possible, but Herc is actually coming to terms with it. He doesn't know how he feels about letting Raleigh see him at his most vulnerable times, but he's not angry. Herc's got no one left in his life, and if he's honest with himself, he wouldn't have had anyone else but Raleigh to see him breaking down.

Raleigh is the kindest man Herc's ever met in his life, and it's what's drawn Herc to him in the first place. They've always been on good terms as neighbors, Herc would even say they're friends, even if he's secretly longed for more. Herc finds that he doesn't resent Raleigh in the least, and as weird as Raleigh being able to turn into a dog is, Herc is ready to embrace it. He just doesn't want Raleigh to leave.

"Can you stay?" Herc asks, meeting Raleigh's gaze again, hope blooming in his chest.

"Uh, o—of course," Raleigh stammers, "Uh, do you want me to—"

Herc cuts Raleigh off with a hug, too relieved to care about the fact that Raleigh's still naked. Raleigh's arms wrap around Herc and hold him tight, as comforting as Herc imagined they would be. 

"I care about you, Herc, you know that, right?" Raleigh mumbles as he nuzzles Herc's face. The gesture is familiar enough to make Herc chuckle, for he still has to wrap his head around the fact that Raleigh and the dog are one. 

"Thank you," Herc whispers, letting a hand card through Raleigh's soft hair, breathing in the latter's scent. He should've known there was something about that dog, for smelling so good all the time. 

Raleigh ends up staying with him in bed that morning—after putting on some clothes Herc lends him—letting Herc seek comfort in his arms, the way Herc's done with Raleigh the dog the past few weeks. 

"I love you," Raleigh whispers as he drops a kiss on the top of Herc's head, just when Herc starts dozing off, probably thinking Herc can't hear him.

Herc squeezes one of Raleigh's hands, wondering for a second whether he's just imagined the words coming out of Raleigh's mouth.

"I love you too."

The second kiss Herc gets—this time on his cheek—tells him he hasn't dreamt. Raleigh loves him, as improbable as that sounds, and Herc lets himself bathe in the warmth that thought procures him as he drifts off back to sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> This story was spurred, as often, by one of frikadeller's tumblr posts:
>
>> charlie hunnam in teen wolf universe  
> but he’s not a werewolf  
> he’s a were-golden retriever.
> 
> This was written in one sitting as soon as I saw the post, so not beta'ed, and with a sleep-deprived brain. Hope you enjoy this little drabble anyway ! It's not in the TW universe, because tw is a mess, and I didn't want my precious babies to be in that universe.


End file.
